An embodiment relates generally to recharging systems for an electric vehicle.
A fully electric vehicle is a type of vehicle that utilizes energy stored within a rechargeable battery pack to provide power to electric motors within the vehicle for applying motion to the vehicle. The electric vehicle typically includes an electrical power distribution system for distributing electrical energy from the vehicle battery to one or more electric motors via one or more controllers. The electric motors provide rotational torque to the wheels of the vehicle. Unlike a conventional vehicle, the electric vehicle does not utilize a combustion engine, and therefore, does not utilize convention fuel (e.g., gasoline) which is conveniently available over a vehicle's course of travel to a destination.
Fully electric vehicles require an external electrical power source from the vehicle for recharging the vehicle battery. The external electrical power source may include a 110 VAC power source or higher. An electrical conduit is used to couple the external electrical power source to a receiving port on the vehicle for receiving electrical energy required for charging the vehicle battery. The external electrical power source is a fixed source and cannot be coupled to the vehicle while the vehicle is moving. Typically a user of an electric vehicle will have a recharging port (i.e., exterior electrical power source) for recharging the battery prior to departure of the vehicle's home. When driving the electric vehicle, designated locations with exterior electrical power sources must be readily identified for recharging the vehicle battery if an insufficient amount of electrical energy is available in the vehicle battery for making a making a return trip home. Therefore, the user must account for how far the vehicle can be driven before the battery is drained prior to returning home or must account for whether a destination has an external electrical power source that can be used to recharge the vehicle battery.
In contrast to internal combustion engine vehicles that have an abundance of refueling stations along a route, the lack of exterior electrical power sources away from the user's house does not offer the freedom of travel to destinations where the vehicle may not have enough power to return home. Moreover, even if a location along the traveled route of the destination has a refueling station, recharging the vehicle battery from an exterior electrical power source is time consuming, and therefore, the user of the electric vehicle must allocate the necessary amount of time for the electric vehicle to be recharged by the exterior electrical power source since the electric vehicle must remain coupled to the exterior electrical power source during the recharging of the vehicle battery.